Oral dosage forms account for approximately eighty percent of all the drug dosage forms on the market. They are non-invasive, easily administered and have high patient compliance. Orally administered therapeutic agents, however, must be transported to the stomach and small intestine for absorption across the gastrointestinal (GI) mucosal membranes into the blood. The efficiency of absorption of a drug following oral administration can be low because of metabolism within the GI tract and first-pass metabolism within the liver, resulting in relatively lengthy onset times or erratic absorption characteristics that are not well-suited to control acute disorders. The majority of oral dosage forms on the market are designed for GI delivery. Relatively few oral dosage forms are designed for delivery through the oral mucosa.
Oral transmucosal delivery offers a number of advantages in that it can provide a shorter onset time to maximal plasma concentration (Cmax) than oral delivery, in particular for lipophilic drugs. This is because the drug rapidly passes directly and efficiently through the epithelium of the highly vascularized mucosal tissue to the plasma, thus rapidly reaching the circulation while avoiding slower, often inefficient and variable GI uptake. It is therefore advantageous for a drug to be delivered through the mucous membranes of the oral cavity, (e.g., via the sublingual route), when rapid onset, consistent Tmax and Cmax are advantageous.
In the process of oral transmucosal drug delivery, the drug is absorbed through the epithelial membranes of the oral cavity. However, frequently the key risk associated with oral transmucosal delivery is the enhanced potential for swallowing the medication owing to the continuous generation, backward flow and swallowing of the saliva. This becomes a particular risk when the dosage forms employed are large enough to produce a significant saliva response, which, in turn, leads to swallowing of drug and/or loss of adherence of the dosage form to the oral mucosa.
Various solid dosage forms, such as sublingual tablets, troches, lozenges, lozenges-on-a-stick, chewing gums, and buccal patches have been used to deliver drugs via the oral mucosal tissue. Solid dosage forms such as lozenges and tablets have been used for oral transmucosal delivery of drugs such as nitroglycerin sublingual tablets.
Reproducible and effective drug delivery technology represents an area of active research, in particular, as it applies to controlled substances such as opioids like sufentanil.
The relevant art does not describe a solid drug dosage form for delivery of sufentanil to the oral mucosa, such as the sublingual space.
This is particularly relevant to the treatment of pain, more specifically, acute (e.g. post-operative), intermittent and breakthrough pain.
Therefore, a need exists for improved drug dosage forms, methods and systems for administration of an opioid, such as sufentanil (e.g., by patient-controlled administration), for treatment of pain.
The present invention addresses these needs.